Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) announced on Monday he’s placing a hold on three of President Donald Trump’s nominees to the Department of the Treasury — because he fears the Trump administration is going to violate his own just-passed tax cut megabill’s rules on how to phase out green energy tax credits.
Grassley’s blockade of Treasury general counsel nominee Brian Morrissey, Jr., Treasury assistant secretary nominee Francis Brooke, and Treasury undersecretary nominee Jonathan McKernan was first flagged by Craig Caplan of CSPAN.
“During consideration of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, I worked with my colleagues to provide wind and solar an appropriate glidepath for the orderly phase-out of the tax credits,” stated Grassley. “Ultimately, Congress enshrined in statute a 12-month transition period based on when projects ‘begin construction.’ What it means for a project to ‘begin construction’ has been well established by Treasury guidance for more than a decade. Moreover, Congress specifically references current Treasury guidance to set that term’s meaning in law. This is a case where both the law and congressional intent are clear.”
“The Department of the Treasury is expected to issue rules and regulations implementing the agreed upon phase-out of the wind and solar credits by August 18, 2025,” Grassley continued. “Until I can be certain that such rules and regulations adhere to the law and congressional intent, I intend to continue to object to the consideration of these Treasury nominees.”
Grassley’s home state of Iowa benefits substantially from wind tax credits, with wind power generating 62 percent of the state’s grid electricity as of 2022 — and wind energy projects relying on the final year of tax credits could be at financial risk if Trump’s administration decides to adopt a stricter definition of when a project “begins construction.”
This is not Grassley’s only recent dustup with the president.
Last month, Trump lashed out at Grassley for continuing to enforce the Senate’s “blue slip” rules, which require the consent of a nominee’s home state senators for certain executive and judicial nominations to move forward — claiming Democrats “laugh at” Grassley for being “weak and ineffective.” The senator hit back, saying, “I was offended by what the President said, and I’m disappointed that it would result in personal insults.”